GP38-2 Athearn RTR shell on Trainman drive

[jwb]

We're talking individual preference here, of course, and in the end you can't argue with that. But current RTR Athearn runs very well. The ex-bluebox models like the GP38-2 and GP40-2 have the same motor as the more sophisticated new-issue RTR like the GP35 and SD45, they MU perfectly well together. I haven't looked at this really closely, but I believe they have pretty much the same starting voltage and pretty much the same speed curve, so although the Atlas drives are just a little smoother and quieter, I haven't seen the need to remotor the RTR (as I used to do with bluebox) or replace the chassis (never done that).

I'd be interested to see any specific demo you might make to show how big a difference we're dealing with here!